Welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of the Left podcast, in an ethical political system, being willing to break the law in order to starve people amid a political dispute wouldn't be a source of greater leverage in power.

But it is in ours.

And the shutdown put the wildly different senses

of ethics between the parties on full display. For those looking for a quick overview,

the sources providing our top takes in about 50 minutes today include The Socialist Program,

Boom Lawyred, the Politics of New America, the damage report, the giving garden, what a day, and

the David Feldman show.

Then, in the additional deeper dives half of the show, there will be more in three sections,

Section A, The Shutdown, Followed by Section B, Food Insecurity, and Section C, Republican

Awfulness.

But first, a reminder to check out our new show solved on the Best of Left YouTube channel.

We're really proud of the show we're making, and you're going to get real value out of it.

And you checking it out actually helps us find new viewers on YouTube.

So thanks in advance for all of your reviews, likes, subscribes, and comments.

That's all on the Best of Left YouTube channel, link in the show notes.

And now, onto the show.

So here's the underlying issue. 22 million people in the United States rely on the Affordable

Act subsidies. That's 92% of the enrollees in

ACA, Obamacare. Now, the Democrats insisted that the 22 million people not have their insurance

premiums double in 2026, which is about to happen unless the Trump

administration changes its policy. So the average annual premium will jump 114% in 2026 to $1,940 per year. that's an increase in the premium that people have to pay every month.

So for many, many people, they won't be able to afford it.

...